Johann Eustach von Westernach

Johann Eustach von Westernach

The Grand Master as a fountain figure in the Teutonic Order Castle Mergentheim

Epitaph for Commander of Westernach ( Parish Church of St. Nicholas (Gundelsheim) )

John Eustace from Westernach (* 16th December 1545 in Neuendettelsau ; † 25. October 1627 in Mergentheim ) was the 44th Grand Master of the Teutonic Order from 1625 to 1627.

origin

Coat of arms of the von Westernach family based on Siebmacher's coat of arms book

The von Westernach family is a Swabian noble family named after Westernach, today part of the town of Mindelheim in the Unterallgäu district .

Life

In 1566 Johann Eustach von Westernach joined the order. In 1567 he became head chef in Ellingen , in 1571 Trappier (who was responsible for the clothing supply) in Frankfurt am Main and in 1580 house commander in Ellingen. From 1585 he was the Landkomtur of the Deutschordensballei Franconia (see also Kapfenburg ).

As early as 1613 he represented Grand Master Maximilian III at the Reichstag in Regensburg . on, in which he received the feudal letter from Emperor Mathias for Prussia.

After Maximilian's death in 1618, he was made coadjutor to Grand Master Karl of Austria and finally succeeded him with the election on March 19, 1625 in the office of Grand Master. On May 12, 1625, Emperor Ferdinand gave him a documentary promise that Prussia should be given back to the Teutonic Order .

He died in 1627 and was buried in the castle church in Bad Mergentheim .

literature

• Heinz Noflatscher: Johann Eustach von Westernach 1625–1627 . In: Udo Arnold (Ed.): The Grand Masters of the Teutonic Order 1190–2012 (= sources and studies on the history of the Teutonic Order, vol. 40). VDG, Weimar, 2nd, expanded and corrected edition 2014, ISBN 978-3-89739-810-8 , pp. 207–211.